Police Nab Two for Identity Theft in Somers
State Police in Somers arrested two men last week for identity theft as part of an investigation that was triggered by a complaint from a Somers woman.
In October, State Police Investigator James Stirpe of the Somers barracks initiated a probe after a Somers resident reported her credit card information was stolen and fraudulent purchases were made. A total of approximately $50,000 worth of computer equipment was charged against her card and others throughout the state.
The suspects would place large orders from various computer companies in the U.S. and arrange for pick-up to occur at major shipping hubs. During the investigation, with assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspectors Office, a controlled pick-up from a post office in Somers was coordinated. At that time, Almanzor Dejesus-Castro, 31, of the Bronx arrived at the post office and retrieved one of 40 packages that he was scheduled to pick-up.
After exiting the post office Dejesus-Castro was arrested. Paul Abreu-Grullon, 38, of Reading, Pennsylvania was waiting in a nearby van, observed the arrest and attempted to flee the scene. He was arrested a short time later on Route 202.
Both men were charged with attempted grand larceny in the third degree, a Class E felony, and arraigned before Somers Town Justice Dennis Timone. They were remanded to Westchester County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bail. Additional charges are pending.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
